Domino Effect
by Circuit 347
Summary: (High school AU) Sonic and Sally were best friends since preschool. They did everything together, were partners in crime. When Sally is left wheelchair bound in a car accident, will it cause their already strong friendship to expand... perhaps even evolve into more?
1. Two Friends And A Chaotic Kitchen

A/ N: This story is in no way related to my other highschool AU Chaos Academy. You'll find that no one here is genderbent and the school is your average public school. Also, each chapter switches between Sonic and Sally's POVs.

Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Sonic's POV

With a grunt from the effort, I pick up the bulky engine and carry the hunk of junk across the wet yard into the ricketdy shack we call Tails's workshop.

By "we", I mean Tails, Uncle Chuck, and myself. My family.

Tails is my eight year old brother. Even though we're not biologically related (because he's adopted), we're two brothers from different mothers. This kid is smart beyond belief. Heck, he can hot wire cars, breeze through calculus, and has mastered string theory. And remember, he's only eight.

What is even weirder is that Tails and I are in the same grade. Because he could easily do it, he wanted to go straight to Spagonia University and study biology, but the school system wasn't exactly eager to give an eight year old a high school diploma. Instead, they let him skip the rest of elementary school and all of middle school just as I was entering high school. So yeah, we're both softmores.

Uncle Chuck took me in before Tails was even born, when I was five years old. My parents had just divorced and were in the middle of a custody battle... until the judge found out that they were both heroin addicts. I haven't seen my Mom in several years since she started rehab and my Dad died from an overdose when I was nine.

If it hadn't been for Uncle Chuck, I wouldn't have recovered from that dark time. The man, he... he was like a Dad to me. Even more so than my own father. He gave me a home...

I set the engine down on the wet grass with a thud and knock on the door. "Tails, lemme in!"

I heard the clicking and spinning of locks (Tails is paranoid; deal with it) before the door slides open. Tails walks out and plants his hands under the rusty engine I carried. Together, we carry it inside and set it down on Tails's table.

"Whew," I sigh, leaning back to pop my back. "Heavy order, I see,"

Tails nods elatedly with a goofy grin. "You betcha. This engine will provide some great spare parts. Thanks, Sonic,"

I open my mouth to say "No problem," but I'm cut off by Uncle Chuck's voice yelling from the back porch.

"Sonic! Sally's here!"

"I'll be right there!" I yell back. I turn to Tails. "Be careful with that engine. We don't want a repeat of _the incident,_ "

"Okay, Dad," Tails teases. "I won't break an ankle again,"

I walk out of the shed, closing the door behind me. Then I tread through the yard, walk up the back porch stairs, and swing open the screen doors. In the kitchen, Sally is leaning against the quartz island, pulling her red hair into a ponytail.

"You ready?" she asks with a lopsided smile. Then I notice that she's wearing a frilly pink apron over her blue hoodie and jeans.

"What's with the apron, Grandma?" I chuckle, nudging her with my elbow.

"You didn't forget, did you?"

"Forget what?"

Sally heaved a sigh. "The track team's bake sale,"

"Oh," I mutter. "Crap,"

Sally was my best friend since pre school when she skined her knee and I told her it'd be okay. After she was patched up, she invited me to a game of tag and it kinda had a domino effect. Next thing we knew, we were best friends.

She is the captain of the chess club and lives just down the street from me. We often go into each other's houses unannounced and leave stuff behind. My jacket's been hung up in her closet for five years now. She may be a bit high strung at times, but she's always there for ya in the long run.

"We talked about this at breakfast this morning," Sally reminded in her famous lecture tone. "How could you forget?"

"I was worried over the Chemistry test,"

"Then you should've studied,"

"You don't,"

"Yeah, I do,"

"Um... no you don't,"

"Um... yeah I do,"

"Okay, you two," Uncle Chuck cuts through our argument before it can escalate. "Let's not have a repeat of _the other incident,_ "

"Yes, sir," Sally and I say in unison with our heads bowed and sheepish smiles.

Uncle Chuck exchanges a sly look with Sally. "Thanks for babysitting,"

"Hey!" I blurt. Sally just laughs. As Uncle Chuck walks out the front door, she gets on her tip toes and opens one of the cabinets, pulling out baking soda, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and other things I don't even recognize from my own kitchen.

"So, Blue," she drawls. I pipe to attention at her pet name for me. "How much do you know about baking sugar cookies?"

"Not a lot," I admit sheepishly.

She sets the spices on the kitchen island and opens the fridge, pulling out eggs and milk. "Grab the cookie mix,"

I nod and do as she asks, setting the box next to the assembled ingredients. "So what now?"

"Now," Sally replies. "we get to work,"

Don't ask how it happened, but an hour later, the oven is on fire and the kitchen is a disaster.

"UNCLE CHUCK IS GONNA KILL US!!!" I scream as I run down the stairs, lugging a plastic bucket of water. As I go, water splashes all over the walls, floor, and furniture. Sally scrambles around desperately for a fire extinguisher as I fling the bucket at the smoke filled over. The fire dies with a vengeful hiss.

I look around at the kitchen and cringe. Cookie doe is all over the floor and ceiling. The milk carton is spilled on the living room carpet nearby. Eggs are dripping off the walls. The kitchen is filled with smoke from the oven.

"Just to be clear," Sally says, gazing at the mess we made. "this was your fault,"

"My fault?!" I gape at her. "You're the one that left the oven on!"

"Because I had to stop you from double dipping with the frosting!"

"Well, you should've kept it on a shelf! You know I can't help myself!"

"Maybe if you learned some self control, you could've!"

"Okay, Miss I-Have-To-Let-The-House-Burn-Down-Because- My-Friend-Double-Dipped,"

Sally opens her mouth to shoot something back, but is cut off when Tails rushes inside. "Why's there smoke?" he asks.

"Because Sal here left the oven on," I remark, nodding to Sally with a glare.

"Are we running through this childish charade again?" She sneers with her hands on her hips. "I told you, you shouldn't have distracted me,"

"You guys are screwed," Tails blurts, an amused grin taking over his muzzle. Then he begins to laugh. "You guys are so, so screwed! Uncle Chuck's gonna kill you!"

"Why would I kill them?"

All three of us gasp in shock to see non other than Chucky himself standing in the doorway.

"Unc, look-" I start.

He holds up his palm, instantly silencing me. "I don't know what happened here, but all I can say for sure is that you're grounded and_ all three of you _are going to clean this up!"

"But I wasn't even involved! I can't be grounded! I have a STEM meeting tomorrow!" Tails pleads with sad blue eyes. He even quivers his lip for effect.

"It's true. This was all Sal and me," I verify. Tails owes me big time.

Uncle Chuck sighs. "Alright. But Sonic, you can only go to and from school for the next two weeks. Give me your cell phone,"

I slump my shoulders and hand him my blue cased iphone. Sally stands rigid and straight, expecting her punishment.

"Sally, even though you're like a daughter to me, I have no right to discipline you. But I will be calling your parents,"

"Yes, sir," she replied despondently.

After two hours of scrubbing, mopping, and accusing, we finish. Uncle Chuck lets Sally go home, but I have to stay and do more chores.

* * *

A/ N: Please leave your opinions in the comment section and if you live in the same area of the world as me, pray for snow so I can get out of math tomorrow lol.


	2. Flashing Lights

Sally's POV

As soon as I walk out of Sonic's house, I scale the concrete steps, walk down the driveway, and climb into my run down painted peeled grey Nissan Maxima. I pull out into the road and drive uneasily.

Oh, my parents are going to kill me. I can already envision the punishment. I'll probably be stuck folding Elias's dirty socks for the next month! Or perhaps I'll be put in charge of the cat's litter box... both possiblites suck, considering I'll probably have grounding to worry about. After all, I _did _almost burn down Mr Charles's kitchen. But it was Sonic's fault! He shouldn't have distracted me!

As I pull through an intersection, I notice a green van zooming down the road on my left side a little too fast and a little too wobbly. They look like they have no intention of stopping.

I slam on the gas pedal to get out of the way. But it's not enough.

Everything happens in a blur. The van rams into the driver's side of the car and sharp, hot metal rams into my side. My legs and abdomen scream in pain and my senses dull. I only make out fragments of the next few events.

Smoke fills the car, presumably from the engine. Bystanders rush in and pull me out of the car, laying me on the grass on the side of the road. A middle aged woman holds a cloth to my bleeding leg while her husband calls and ambulance.

All the while they're carting me off, all I can think about is the pain. My legs burn... THEY BURN! I feel a foreign object in my side. I run my hand over the wound to find that a piece of scrapnel is enbedded into my stomach and blood is seeping through my fingers... my blood.

The last thing I remember is seeing the flashing lights of the cop car and a drunk man being handcuffed before I black out.

* * *

A/ N: I hope I described that okay. I've never been in a car accident (which is a good thing, I suppose). Later!


	3. Stay Strong For Her

Sonic's POV

Tails offers to help clean up, being the kid he is. Wow, he makes me feel like crap. I'm scrubbing hard and my arms feel numb. Tails srubs egg off the wall just a few feet away from me.

"How'd this even happen?" he asks, slightly amused.

I let out a _harumph _and scrub harder, my cheeks flushing in embarrassment. "Don't wanna talk about it,"

Uncle Chuck walks in and does a slow, agonizing 360 to inspect our work. "Tails, you sure you wanna help clean your brother's mess? It's getting late and you look tired,"

"I'm here too," I blurt in annoyance.

Tails shakes his head. "I'm fine, really. I figured Sonic would need help cleaning a huge mess like this,"

Uncle Chuck's phone rings from inside his jacket pocket. He pulls it out and answers. "Hello? Um... yes, yes... Why?" He freezes in place, suddenly looking ready to vomit. "What... _how? Why?! _She was always such a careful driver!"

Tails and I exchange worried glances. _What is he talking about?_

"A drunk driver?" Uncle Chuck gapes into the reciever. He seethes angrily. "The selfish punk! ... Yes, yes. I'll tell them. We'll be there in a few minutes," He lets out a quivery sigh and hangs up, bowing his head. "She's just a kid..."

"Unc?" I cut in uneasily. Uncle Chuck looks at me with wide, heartbroken eyes that tell me something is wrong. Something is _horribly _wrong.

"Sally, she..." he murmers, almost in total shock. "She was in a car accident..."

"WHAT?!" Tails gasps. Tears prick the corners of his big blue eyes. My big brother instincts take over and I place a hand on his shoulder, all the while trying to hold myself together.

"Is she okay?" I ask carefully, trying not to stutter. "Did they take her to the hospital?"

Uncle Chuck nods. "Both of her legs were broken and she was impaled by shrapnel,"

Sal... _Sal... _she was... impaled?

"Sonic, you look pale," Uncle Chuck says, his eyes crinkling in the corners the way they did when he was worried.

"I'm fine, Unc. Let's just go see Sal,"

* * *

The hospital lobby was crowded with Sally's family and our friends Amy, Knuckles, Antoine, Bunnie, Nicole and Rotor.

Amy is a freshman and that class's treasurer. I met her while I was waiting for Sally to get out of chess club and she immediately fell in love. She gave me a freaking bear hug and yelled out "SONIKKU!" The girl is nice, but she's only twelve and I'm fifteen. That would be... wrong.

Knuckles is on the football team. We were friends since fourth grade when we were both in little league (back when I was into football; now I'm on the track team) and only like three feet tall, which is the average height of a Mobian nine year old. Knux is super hot headed and we often get into physical fights, but we always make up like an hour later.

Antoine is also a freshman, a part of the chess club and has a huge crush on Sally, which has always bothered me for some reason. Rotor is a junior and also a part of the chess club AND the computer club with Tails and Nicole.

Bunnie and Nicole are cheerleaders that befriended Sally after they found her sobbing in the bathroom because her stupid boyfriend, Geoffrey dumped her. To comfort her, they gave her a makeover and it had a domino effect, causing them to hang out on a daily basis.

To put it simply, Sally and I have a lot of friends.

"Any news on Sal?" I ask them as Uncle Chuck signs in at the front desk.

Nicole shakes her head in dismay, her messy black hair obscuring her eyes. "Just that she was impaled and her legs are broken..."

"Oh, this is so unfair!" Bunnie yells out in her Southern drawl. She shoots to her feet and begins to pace, her face contorted in more rage than sadness. "Sally-girl didn't deserve that! How in tarnation could that ole drunk be so SELFISH to do that to her! He ought to go to jail! Ah hope he has a good lawyer!"

"_Pourquoi elle? _" Antoine demanded. I think he meant _Why her__? _That's exactly what I was thinking. "She is such a meticulous driver!"

"These things happen," Rotor states sorrowfully.

Tails tugs at my quills. When I look down at his big frightened eyes, I realize that even though he's beyong intelligent, he's still only eight. "Sonic," he whimpers. "will Sally be okay?"

"She'll be fine," I lie. Honestly... I don't know and it's killing me. I put my arms under Tails's and heave him up, letting him cling around my neck. "Sal's tough. She'll be back on her feet in no time,"

Tails nods uncertainly. I look over at Sally's family.

Her mother is sobbing into her father's shoulder on the other side of the lobby. Her brother and my teammate on the track team, Elias is slumped over in his chair asleep, presumably tired from the grueling practice I just happened to skip. He's still in his track jersey.

I consider talking to them and offering some sort of comfort. After all, I've known them as long as I've known Sally and they're like a second family to me. But... I don't know what to tell them. _Hey, I know your daughter was impaled but she'll be fine and dandy!_

Wait... isn't that basically what I told Tails? Oh, my head hurts...

Still holding Tails, I make my way next to Knuckles and sit down. Knuckles spares a single glance and nod, perhaps to somehow reassure me Sal's not about to... I can't even think it without crying.

Knuckles seems to notice the wetness in my eyes. "Sonic?"

I blink it back as fast as it came. "Are you telling everyone at school?"

"Already did on Facebook,"

I scoff. "Figures,"

I didn't think Sally would want people gossping about her accident. She hates that sort of thing. Knuckles knew that and yet he went and told people anyway. But then again, that's how Knuckles operates. He's a gossip. Take it or leave it.

Several anxious hours of waiting pass. More people from school and Sally's other relatives show up. Tails nods off on my lap and starts drooling on my shoulder, but I'm too afraid of waking him up to move his head. Around ten thirty at night, Amy and Nicole go home to avoid getting in trouble for ignoring their curfews. Antoine leaves with Rotor at eleven or so. Bunnie bails reluctantly at one. The Acorns stay, but fall asleep. We don't talk much.

Uncle Chuck tries to convince me to go home. "You have school tomorrow, Sonny Boy,"

"And my best friend is in the ER," I remark bitterly, keeping my voice at a whisper. "I'm staying,"

"But you have an important History test,"

"But Chuuuck,"

He sighs in defeat. "Alright. Just this one time, you can skip school. But you can only go home and to the hospital. No exceptions unless I call it,"

"Thanks, Unc," I say gratefully. "I'd hug ya, but..." I nod at Tails, who is still fast asleep on my lap. We wait together all the way to 3 am and I nod off in my chair, waking up to a forceful tap to the shoulder.

"Sonic," Uncle Chuck whispers.

I squint at him tiredly. "Unc... where am I? What's wrong? Did I forget the laundry again...?"

"No, we're at the hospital,"

"Why?"

Then I remember why as the events of the day hit me like a tidal wave. "Oh yeah..."

Standing in front of us is a doctor, an elderly Mobian duck. He hums to himself and reads over his clip board. "Are you the Hedgehog family?"

"Yes," Uncle Chuck replies. "Is this about Sally?"

"Indeed. We have her injures taken care of. She's going to recover, but she'll always have a scar where that shrapnel impaled her. And..." He trails off, avoiding our gazes.

"Yes?" I press.

"Her legs are broken beyond repair. She'll never walk again,"

The news hits me like a bullet... Sal's fifteen... she had so much life to live, but now... she'll never be able to even...

"I want to see her," I whisper. My voice cracks slightly. "Please..."

The doctor nods. "I'll take you,"

"Thank you, Doctor Quack," Uncle Chuck says. He carefully scoops Tails out of my grasp.

I follow Doctor Quack down a hallway, up an elevator, and down another hallway. We don't speak until we reach the door to what apparently is Sally's room.

"Now, she's not awake and her family is pretty distraught, so... be careful," Doctor Quack advises.

"Gotcha," I deadpan. He opens the door. I walk in and he quietly shuts it behind me.

Sally's asleep in the gurney. Her mother is at her bedside. her head lolled over to the left. She's asleep too. Her father is on the other side of the bed, his back to me as he holds Sally's hand. Elias is in a chair at the back of the room, watching the muted TV. Something tells me he's not even paying attention.

"Um..." I say. _Gosh, this is akward._

Mr Acorn looks over at me and smiles halfheartedly. "Hello, Sonic,"

Sal's dad and I don't have the best relationship. All of our conversations involve 1. Him accusing me of trying to steal Sally from him or 2. Me breaking something of his.

"Hey, Mr Acorn," I greet uneasily. I walk over and look over his shoulder. "Did the Doctor... er... tell you?"

"Yes, we know she'll need a wheelchair for the rest of her life..." he sighs sadly. He strokes his daughter's hand. "My little bean didn't deserve this... when I get my hands on the drunken punk that did this..."

"I'll hold him and you punch!" I joke (sorta), pounding my fists.

He laughs softly and looks me in the eye. "Sonic, I just want to thank you for being here to support Sally,"

"She's my best friend. Why wouldn't I?" I inquire.

"Hmm..." he hums. "I've always wondered if it was more than that..."

A full on blush hits my muzzle. Is he implying that I _have a crush on her?_

Is he wrong? Yes! I can't date Sal; that would feel like incest... right?

He seems to read my thoughts and chuckles again. "Relax, son. I'm just playing with you. Sally always talks about how fun it is to get you worked up,"

"Does she, now?" I mutter begrudgingly. "I'll talk to her about it when she wakes up,"

He turns back to Sally. I take a seat next to Elias and playfully kick his leg lightly. "Yo, Eli,"

"Well, Blue," Elias says with a smirk. "I figured I'd see you here,"

"Why's that?"

"You and my sister were always close. Why else?"

I groan. "You sound just like your dad,"

"We both like seeing you flustered. It's a family thing, I guess. I heard your conversation and I'd like to say for myself..." he places a hand on my shoulder. "Thanks for coming. I know this is hard on you too,"

"Yeah, it is," I admit before I can hold my tongue. "I'm worried about how Sal will take the whole wheelchair thing,"

"Dunno. All I know that is we have to stay strong. For her,"

* * *

A/ N: Yeah, this was a longer chapter. The next one will be shorter.


	4. Revulsion

Sally's POV

I wake up to the blurry faces of my parents, my brother, and Sonic all huddled around my bed, frantically whispering.

"She's awake!"

"Is she in pain?"

"Who's gonna tell her about the-"

"Eli, shut it! Let the doc do it!"

I'm in what looks like a hospital room. Through the window, the sun is peeking it's way over the mountain, basking the outside in an orange glow. The city is bustling, just coming to life as my vision adjusts into something coherent.

"What happened?" I ask, trying not to slur my words. Everyone exchanges a tentative glance as if telling me what hospitalized me would kill me.

"Sally, don't panic," Mom says, caressing my forehead. It feels so good I'm tempted to pur. "You were in a car accident. A drunk driver drove straight into the driver's side,"

"Will I be okay for school? I have a chess match Monday,"

Sonic fails to supress a chuckle. "Wow, Sal. _That's _what your worried about?" He quickly withers under glares from my father and brother. "Uh... I mean... _crap..._"

I let out a laugh at Sonic's flustered expression, but I falter as it stabs my side. "Ha ha... ow..."

"Try not to exert yourself," Dad instructs. "or you'll take longer to heal,"

"What are my injures?"

Silence. "_Well? _" I press.

"Oh, for the love of," Elias mutters angrily. "She'll find out eventually. Sally, you were impaled by shrapnel, but you'll be okay. They're be a scar for the rest of your life, probably. And..."

"Elias," Dad says in his famous warning tone he usually reserves for Elias and Sonic. "Don't,"

"You'll never be able to walk again,"

I don't move, don't blink, don't breathe. I... I... can't walk? What does this mean? Will I still be able to go to school? What... why... how...

"Sal," Sonic says softly. "Don't cry. It'll be okay, you'll see,"

Only then do I realize that my eyes are wet. Embarassed for myself, I wipe away the tears and loll my head to the side, looking out the window. "It's my allergies," I sniff.

"The doctor said you'll have to use a wheelchair for now on," Dad says, gifting Elias a glare. "But you'll still be able to go to school and do most of the things other teenagers-"

"What about driving?"

"We'll... figure something out,"

I sigh in discontent. "Okay, Daddy,"

* * *

I'm discharged from the hospital later that day. The doctor prescribes some painkillers and tells my parenst to closely monitor my doses since it's Oxycontin, which is exactly the same as heroin from a molecular structure stand point.

I'm also assigned to physical therapy in the city every Friday afternoon. I hope it doesn't interfere with chess club. I was sent home with my new wheelchiar, but I haven't used it yet. I can't bring myself to...

I spend the next two days in bed living off ramen noodles, stingy doses of Oxycontin, and ice cream smuggled in by Elias. Since I can't walk anymore, I'm carried around. I insisted on crawling when in the bathroom when showering or whatever. Just because I'm crippled doesn't mean I don't have a right to privacy.

Other than eating and sleeping, I've passed the days by with doodling in my sketch book and watching YouTube on my lap top. There isn't a disturbance to this routine until Sonic walks into my room completely unannounced.

"Sonic! There's this thing called _knocking! _" I snap at him. He brushes it off and plops down on my beanbag.

"Oh, relax. It's not like you were naked," he remarks.

My cheeks burn red as I shut the lid to my lap top. "I could've been. You should know better than to barge into a girl's room unannounced. I ought to wallop you noggin!"

"_Wallop my noggin__? _" Sonic snickers, shielding his mouth with his hand. "You've been spending way too much time with Bunnie,"

"Oh, boy," I sigh, fighting back a smile. "I'm gonna tell her you said that,"

"What will she do? Wallop my noggin?"

I throw a stuffed teddy bear directly at his face. "Oh, shut it, Blue!"

"Make me,"

I throw another stuffed animal at him. And another and another and another until Sonic starts laughing and shielding his face.

"Okay, Sal! I'm sorry!" he shouts as a stuffed rabbit collides with his muzzle.

I smirk in satisfaction and stop my arsenal. "Okay, prisoner of war. Tell me something classified. What are people from school saying?"

"Well," Sonic drawls, uncertain. "most of 'em are sending their well wishes and what not. Others... haven't been as kind, if you catch my drift,"

"What do you mean?"

"You know Fiona Fox? That drunk driver was her Dad. He was admitted into the hospital with internal bleeding from the crash. The guy's in a coma, now,"

I blink in suprise. "But I saw him being handcuffed at the crash site before I blacked out. He looked fine, mostly,"

"Apparently, he wasn't," Sonic says, shrugging. "He had it coming. He's lucky it was internal bleeding that landed him in the hospital and not me! He could've killed you!"

Fiona Fox is one of the most popular girls in school. She's Scourge's current girlfriend, Rouge's best friend, and the niece of Principal Robotnik. She's on the cheer squad with Bunnie and Nicole and according to them, she's pretty mean. I dunno. I've never really talked to her and she never really paid attention to me.

"Rumor goes that Fiona is livid toward you," Sonic continues. "She keeps going around, saying the accident was your fault even though it was _clearly _her Dad. Principal Robotnik looked almost _happy _when he announced on the intercom that you can't walk, the sadist..."

"Fiona might be losing her father," I point out. "Robotnik might be losing his brother,"

"Step brother. He's related to Fiona's Mom,"

"Oh,"

We end up hanging out for hours, just us and my lap top. When Sonic's curfew hits and he leaves, I'm left wishing he'd stay for some reason.


	5. Flat Tire

Sonic's POV

Sal's back in school the next Monday. In a wheelchair.

Since we have four of our six class periods together, Principal Robotnik asssigned me the job of wheeling Sally from class to class. The other two classes, it's Nicole's job. I didn't mind; it gives us more time to talk.

But Sally's so miserable in that wheelchair. She constantly hugs her books to her chest and keeps her head bowed, as if her own view of herself changed in a bad way. She isn't very talkative anymore. Before she became wheelchair bound, Sal was shy in public. It was only when she was alone with me, Tails, Bunnie, or Nicole that she let her hair down. Now, she only gives half hearted "yeah"s and "uh huh"s.

I miss her.

"So, Sal," I say at lunch. "How'd the Chemistry quiz go?"

"I got a B," she replies, her voice completely devoid of emotion.

"Remember the answers?" I press as she pokes at her lunch. "I haven't took it yet,"

She shakes her head.

"Oh... um..."

She looks around at the other tables. The skaters (they call themselves the Babylon Rogues) are whispering and pointing at her. The emos, or Team Dark is smirking deviously. The troublemakers, or the Destructix are full on laughing. Team Rose and Team Mystic, the nice kids are whispering sympathetically. And the Chaotix (aka the detective club) is taking notes. NOTES!

Our table is filled to the brink by me, Sally, Tails, Knuckles, Anotine, Bunnie, Rotor, and Nicole. Only difference is that Sally has her wheelchair rolled up to the edge of the table, leaving an empty seat next to me where she used to sit.

"Everyone is looking at me," Sally whispers to me.

"Ah ought to wallop the Chaotix's noggins for takin' notes!" Bunnie rants, pounding her fists.

Sally and I exchange a look as Rotor pipes up. "Speaking of the Chaotix, Espio offered to tutor me in Japanese history. His parents are scholars,"

"Scholars, shmalars," Knuckles says. "You can just look whatever you want up on Google,"

"Or you could just come to me. I don't trust Espio," Tails states, sending Espio a wary glare.

I smirk and leaned in so only Tails can hear. "You're just mad cause he has his eyes on Nicole," I laugh as Tails turns beet red. "Nuh uh!" he yells.

"Did you say my name?" Nicole asks politely, sipping her milk carton.

"NO!" Tails blurts louder than necessary.

After lunch, I wheel Sally to our next class: P.E.

"You're lucky, Sal," I remark as I manuver her wheelchaie through the bustling crowd. "Coach can't give you push ups,"

"Yeah," Sally says despondently. Her shoudlers are drooped and her head bowed the way it always is.

Poor girl... I know the accident hit her hard, but I gotta cheer her up somehow. But how? She doesn't like shopping that much, so that's a no go. Maybe I could bake her a... no! Not after what happened last time! She likes going to the arcade, but that just seems cheap. Darn it, why is this so complicated? It's just Sal!

Then it hits me.

"Hey, Sal,"

"Hm?"

"I need, uh... help with Geometry. I'm sorta kinda maybe... failing..."

Sally looks over her shoulder, her gaze chiding and my mouth agape. "Sonic! It's almost the end of the semester! Besides, you said you were doing great in Geometry. You even got invited to the Mathaletes team but turned it down cause it would 'hurt your image'," She curtly uses quotation signs. "Did you forget to study for our last test?"

"I'm having trouble with this unit. I figured you could help me out," I lie. Crap, I should've said History. I'm surprisingly good a Geometry and Sal knows it. But I can't go back on my story now or she'll suspect.

She sighs bitterly. "Well, since I have nothing else to do... unless I get a flat tire," She nods to the wheels of her wheelchair.

I flinch slightly, but cover it up quick. What I have planned will change her tone, shall we say. It's the least I could do after all the times she helped me whenever I was in a funk.

* * *

A/ N: What does Sonic have in store for Sally? Will it work? Keep reading to find out!


	6. The Chao Garden

Sally's POV

When Sonic and I were younger, around nine through twelve years old, we would go to the Chao Garden every day after school. The Chao Garden is a sanctuary for a rare but adorable creature called a Chao. There are multiple Chao Gardens across the globe, but they're rare and when located, they're so extensively monitored by the government that it ruins the beauty of it.

One day when Sonic and I were in fourth grade, we were at the park playing baseball with Knuckles and some of Sonic's other guy friends. The boys tried to send me home because I was a girl and they thought I'd slow them down (sexism alert). Luckily, Sonic convinced them to let me play.

"She's the brains in the operation," he claimed. "I know you wanna kiss herand kicking her out of a game is not the way to get it,"

The captain in question, Geoffrey St John, immediately turned beet red and spat. "W-well... what do YOU know, Blue?"

While the team was bickering, I looked through the park's brush and found a small trail. I followed it into a curtain of ivy vines in the entrance of a cave. At the other side... was a Chao Garden. Full and lushious. Untouched by man. It was beautiful. I rushed back to the game and afterwards, when we were alone, I told Sonic about my find and showed him. It was our own little secret. Our hiding place. Our refuge when it became to much. Unfortunately, we visited less and less as we got older to the point where it's been over a year since the last time. I don't know whether or not Sonic's been since then. I never asked.

In the end on that faithful day, I got picked first on Sonic's team as the pitcher. Everyone thought itmwas only because Sonic and I were best friends and/ or he had a crush on me like Geoffrey did (and still does), but that's ridiculous.

I'm Sonic's wingwoman! I help him with girlfriend issues. I was the one that brought him and Fiona Fox together in seventh grade, even though they broke up several months later, Sonic claiming that Fiona cheated on him with Scourge the Hedgehog. Apparently, he caught them making out at a party.

Other than Fiona, I've helped Sonic through girlfriend problems involving Mina Mongoose, Rouge the Bat, Elise Soleanna, and Blaze the Cat. Of course, all of those relationships ended, so perhaps I'm not a _good _wingwoman, but I'm still a wingwoman neverless.

Sonic operates as my wingman. He's the one that tries (and fails) to persuade me into talking to my crushes. He keeps trying to get me to overcome my shyness, but the guys at this school are... well, either jerks, skittish, or taken. Question is... is Sonic dating material?

He's handsome enough (I'll never admit that though) and he brings out the best in me. He may be annoying at times, but he always has my back in the long run. But it'd be akward. We've known each other since we were toddlers. We're like brother and sister, the unstoppable duo. It'd practically be incest.

Of course, we aren't really related. Then again... Sonic's one of the nost popular guys in school. All the girls fall head over heels for him. He can have anyone he wants.

So why would he date a socially akward, high strung, permanently crippled girl like me? The way I am now... no guy would want me.

My depressing reverie is interupted by a knock on my bedroom door. "Come in!" I call.

Sonic strolls inside and plops down on the bed next to mine. "So Sal," he carries on conversationally. "About my tutoring in Biology-"

"You said it was Geometry,"

"-I was wondering if you could help me with my project," he continues, ignoring my interruption. "I have to identify all the different species of lizards in Knothole and I was wondering if you could help me,"

I take a moment to consider. First it was Geometry, now Biology? When did Sonic change his story? Still, his grades are slipping a bit in Biology, so I might as well go. Besides, even if this is some kind of prank, I don't have the mental energy to refute him. I'll just humor him this one time. "Okay, let's go,"

Since my car is totalled from the wreck and Sonic doesn't have a car (or a license), we end up walking. Well... Sonic walks and I get rolled on my wheelchair. In total, it takes fifteen minutes to get to the park. As Sonic rolls me down the trail, I spot something in the corner of my eye...

"Sonic, look!" I say, pointing. "It's the old baseball field we played at as kids!"

"Oh yeah," Sonic replies nostalgically. "Remember that time Geoffrey St John got a concussion from running into the fence pole?"

"Or how Mighty swung the bat and hit Ray in the face?"

"Don't forget when Nack and Bean got into a fight over one of the girls playing volleyball nearby,"

"And then there was the time you clubbed Shadow with the bat and he chased you all over the park!"

We both laugh, recalling how Shadow brutally beat Sonic up that faithful day... it was hilarious! Even Sonic thought so!

"Like I said, Sal," Sonic chuckles. "Good times,"

"Yeah... I miss it," I admit quietly.

We're both silent for a moment, acknowledging that I'll never be able to have those kind of moments ever again. But I miss them so, so much...

The silence lingers in the air before Sonic breaks it. "So about my project..."

"Yes?"

"Oh- wait! Look!" He yelps excitedly, pointing into the brush. "Did you see it!"

"See what?" I ask with a sideways glance.

"That lizard! I need to catch it!"

"Whoa, Sonic," I say with my palms forward. "Calm do-"

I'm cut off as Sonic scoops me out of the wheelchair, holding my bridal style, and runs into the forest. As we go at what feels like the speed of sound, I scream and cling to Sonic's neck.

"Sonic Maurice Hedgehog! What do you think you're doing?!" I shout over the rush of wind.

He just smirks. "You'll see, Sal,"

He skidss to a halt at... no way... it's still here!

The Chao Garden is just as beautiful as I remember. The water from tthe pond glistens with sunlight and adorable Chao immediately rush toward us. One even snuggles into the pocket of my hoodie and three more clutch Sonic's quills.

The Chao in my pocket sticks it's little head out and smiles. "_Chao, chao! _"

"Aw," I coo, caressing it's chin with my finger. Sonic sets me down on a boulder next to the water.

"Looks like the old Chao Garden hasn't changed," he remarks with a tranquil smirk I haven't seen since my accident. Then it hits me how much it affected him as well. A fourth Chao grabs the crook of his arm. "Whoa, little guy,"

"They like you, Blue," I say. The Chao in my pocket climbs out and nuzzles my cheek. "Hey, stop! Ack! Too cute!" I hold it in my arms and examine Sonic, who currently has up to twelve... make that thirteen... Chaos cuddling up to him. Even back when we were kids, for some reason Sonic always attracted more Chao. A _lot _more.

Then I realize why we're _really _here.

"I see what you're doing," I state, trying to supress a goofy grin. "You don't have a Biology project. You took me here to cheer me up,"

"Did it work?" Sonic asks, hopeful.

I chuckle softly and wrap my arms around his waist in a hug. "You're such a dork,"

"And you're not?" he retorts lightly, hugging me back.

"We're both dorks, I guess,"

* * *

A/ N: A much happier chapter, I must say. Wonder what will happen next...?


End file.
